From: "Fcolmenarez" Subject: Re: Fire in the Sky from MMP: opinion needed Pat Collins wrote: > >>I own it but haven't played it yet. It's supposed to be a > >>quck-playing game that you can finish in a couple hours. My > >>impression is that it is more complex than Pacific Victory, let alone > >>A&A. > > > I'd say it's a *bit* more complex than Pacific Victory, but not all > > that much. > > I actually consider A&A Pacific to be more complex than Pacific Victory. > I like Pac Victory a lot, and think it does a very good job of recreating > the problems of the Pacific War in a playable manner. > > I am VERY curious about Fire in the Sky, though. > > -- > Regards, Pat > > Last Played: Lock n' Load X2 (via Vassal), Three Battles of Manassas, Mighty > Endeavor I own it and I've played it! It's a blast! This is no monster but has plenty of depth, The rules are short and very clearly written, some Q&A has surfaced and some Errata as well you can check out at talk.consimworld.com, no game breakers just some minor stuff, look into the games discussion and hunt down the Fire in the Sky folder (Boardgames - Individual Game Discussion - WWII Games (individual) - Pacific Theater) Definitely a cut above VITP, haven't played Pacific Victory or A&A Pacific. The learning curve is quite acceptable. I played one entire solo game in about 12 hours total as I was beginning to learn to the game and also I tended to take my sweet time analizing all the rules ramifications and thinking up strategies for both sides. I'd say a first timer can get it done in 8 hours. Experienced players who know what works and what doesn't can do it in 4 to 6 hours. In short you can learn to play this game in a Saturday and by the end of the day you'll feel like you can take on some veteran players. All major aspects of the war are present with the exception of China and the Soviet Union, they don't appear in the game. The transportation model reflects very well the dificulty of deploying forces across the map in the game. This means you usually have more units than you can move and have to make choices, and understanding how best to spend your availalble transport points is key in this game. Japan is also constrained by limited oil supplies they must replenish each turn with their transports so they have the additional complication of not using up so many transports that they can't transport Oil back to Japan. During each game turn there are two player turns, japanese and allied. The style is very much I-GO-U-GO but the other player can react during his opponent's turn after he has moved, although said opponent can then decide how to commit his air units after seeing enemy reaction. This game is extremely SOLO friendly as there are practically no simultaneous actions that affect combat intelligence. The general flow is this way: During Japans turn they move oil and set up convoy escorts, later they receive reinforcements, then they deploy forces in preparation for offensive campagins, then they operationally move units and create battle hexes where they want to fight, the Allied player reacts with any fleets in range, Japan commits long range air, resolve combat, return to base, deploy forces again (usually in anticipation of reacting) and end of turn. The allied turn is the same with the roles reversed, the difference is they don't move oil or convoy escorts, they engage in strategic warfare with available submarines, japan can shoot at the subs if they have escorts but it costs oil.